The Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation (AMAF) in Dubai has announced a plan to convert a mosque to the first eco-friendly mosque in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). According to the Khaleej Times newspaper, the project will cost 25 million UAE dirhams or 6.81 million USD.

The eco-friendly mosque is expected to save about 20 percent of water and power consumption. The normal consumption of water in the mosques is about three liters per person a day while the normal consumption of electricity in the mosques is about  250 kilo watts per square meter a year. Adding to eco-friendly conversion, the mosque would extend to about 9,754.82 square meters (105,000 square feet), making it the largest mosque in Dubai.

After the modifications, the mosque would accommodate about 3,500 worshipers at the same time. The roof of the mosque would be gardened to reduce the sun heat; additionally, it will use the solar energy to heat ablution water. The ablution is an Islamic procedure for washing parts of the body by using water to be prepared for prayer. The recycling plant within the mosque facilities will take the used ablution water for gardening and washroom use. The mosque will be constructed by eco-friendly materials to avoid non-biodegradable waste. It will also use an automatic thermostat to keep cool without wasting energy and will use natural light.

According to the Khaleej Times, Mr. Tayeb Abdulrahman Al Rais, Secretary-General of the AMAF, said: “The construction of the mosque is in line with the UAE leadership’s vision towards the conservation of resources, environment protection, and the adoption of green practices. With the global call for energy conservation, it is essential for developers to take responsibility for creating buildings that comply with green standards. The mosque project complies with best practices in corporate governance, while being transparent and gaining the validation of Awqaf, government and private institutions.”

In the neighboring city, Abu Dhabi’s General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments department approved the plan of an eco-friendly mosque to be built within Saadiyat Island. The design was made by Suhail Mohammed Suleiman, a graduate architecture student at Al-Hosn University. This initiative is not the first in the mosque-building field. In 2008, the Islamic community in Manchester opened Masjid-E-Noor, which was the first partially eco-friendly mosque in the world. The mosque was built with wood from renewable sources.  It also possessed solar panels to generate electricity.

In 2010, the Muslim community in Cambridge opened the first fully operated eco-friendly mosque. The mosque was designed by the award-winning architecture company, Marks Barfield, who designed a lot of projects in the UK and in the world, such as London Eye and Kew Treetop Walk.

Additionally, in 2010, eco-friendly mosques were opened in Buyukeceli village, which is in the Mersin province of Turkey. The mosques were opened by the residents of the village to protest having a nuclear plant there. This action was taken to show the government that there are many renewable sources that generate clean energy and are preferable to a nuclear plant.

The article Mosques Go Green to Conserve Resources appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Ramadan is the holy month in Islam, which is when all Islam followers must fast for 30 or 29 days. The length of the holy month is decided according to the new crescent moon’s appearance as all the months of the Hijri Lunar calendar begin and end with. The fasting is from dawn to sunset every day.

The fasting duration depends on the geographic location of the country that the Muslim lives in and their home’s distance from the equator. For example, the daily fasting duration in Indonesia would be about 12 hours, while in Scandinavian countries would be about 17 hours.

Fasting Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam, which are the Shahada (Islamic creed), the Salah (the 5 daily prayers) ,Zakat (Alms), Sawm (Fasting the month of Ramadan) and Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca).

Some Islamic scholars have approved the technological methods of moon observing by modern telescopes, while others say it must be seen with a naked eye. Also, other scholars have approved the pre-calculated calendar based on astronomy science. In most cases the Muslims follow the government declaration on the observing day, or in non-Islamic majority countries they follow the announcement of the official Islamic organizations.

Due to the large area of the Islamic world in different countries from Indonesia on the Far East to Morocco in the West, there is a difference in Ramadan’s starting by a day or two days, as the moon can’t be observed during the daylight.

Before dawn Muslims prefer to eat a predawn meal (Suhoor) before fasting to support the body with energy during the long fasting day. In some cultures this meal is heavy, while in others it is a light meal, while, according to some health websites, it’s advisable to have a light Suhoor similar to the breakfast meal on non-Ramadan days.

Most Muslims prefer to break the fasting (Iftar) at sunset with a few dates followed by a cold drink. Traditionally, in Palestine and the Levant countries the cold drink would be Tamarind or Qamar Eddeen, which is a drink made of a dry apricot. In Indonesia and Asian countries they start the Iftar with the Cendol drink, which is coconut milk with rice, pandan leaves, shaved ice and palm sugar

Every Islamic nation has some traditional dishes, drinks, and desert that are served during Ramadan more than other months around the year. The most popular deserts in Levant and Turkey during Ramadan are Qatayef , Kanafeh and Baklava. The Qatayef  is a sweet dumpling filed with nuts, cheese or cream and Kanafeh is pastry soaked in sweet syrup, while Baklava  is a sweet pastry made of layers of filo pastry filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup or honey.

The best greeting for your Muslim friends and colleagues is to say ‘Ramadan Kareem’ which means “Ramadan is generous,” this year the holy month will start either on the 20 or 21 of July.

The article The Muslims are Prepared for Ramadan appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

The conflict between Turkey and Syria is heating up. On Sunday, June 30, the Turkish army sent  six F-16 planes to do emergency takeoffs on their border with Syria in response to the three jets that the Syrian army sent over on Saturday. Turkey recognizes that last Saturday’s action was not a violation of Turkish air space, but the nearness of these planes was enough for them to order a response.

The reality is that Turkey has become more aggressive towards Syria since a Turkish F-4 was brought down by the Syrian troops on  June 22. Turkish response came fast. Their armed forces deployed launchers and anti areal batteries missiles against Syria. Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan also said that they will “regard… as a threat” any type of military element that gets close to the frontier.

Officially, Turkey does not want confrontation with Syria, but the reality is that they are putting pressure on others, such as the United States, to stop the Syrian conflict. Turkey has gone from friendship to criticism. Now they support the Syrian National Council and the Free Syrian Army. They also asked for the creation of intermediate zones and humanitarian corridors in the border area.

Meanwhile, NATO has insisted that it is necessary to find a political solution, but has approved the steps that Turkey is following in order to defend their land and population.

In the other side, Rusia says that the felled Turkish airship on June 22 was flying in Syrian air space. Moscow assures the public that they have evidence that can prove it. Turkey has not taken long to defend themselves and has made a response that denies the information that accuses Turkey of flying in Syria’s air space.

The Syrian Minister of Information has stated that the armed forces shot down the plane by mistake because they thought that it was an Israeli craft. As the Minister explained, most of the Turkish and Israelis aircrafts are made by the United States. This is what confused the Syrian forces, and made them think that it was an Israeli plane.

In the meantime, the Syrian Civil War, which according to United Nations has caused more than 10,000 victims, keeps on going. A prominent Syrian Al Assad opposition, Fawaaz al Tello, has made a call to the United States asking for help. He is demanding weapons for the rebels, for fighting the Al Assad regime. The Free Syrian Army has expressed that they need weapons such as rocket launchers in order to destroy the tanks and army helicopters from the Syrian Army.

The United States does not seem to be convinced to give weapons to the Syrians because most of the rebels are Islamist, so there is a level of suspicion surrounding it. What it seems clear is that all of the steps need to be given careful consideration because the conflict could explode at any moment.

The article Syria and Turkey Conflict Increases appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

United Nations Peace Envoy, Kofi Annan, has decided to hold an international conference regarding the ever-growing war in Syria, which has left several killed and severely injured. The meeting will take place in Geneva this coming Saturday, but cause for concern is arising, as the United States is having mixed emotions about being a part of the conference.

Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has confirmed that despite the United State’s lukewarm feelings about the conference, it will be in attendance, in addition to representatives from various countries including Russia, China, Britain, France, Turkey, and others from European Union, as well as the Arab League.

According to Annan, the purpose of the meeting, “is to forge a consensus on the terms for a political solution among international players with stakes and influence in the Syrian conflict over terms for a political solution. The U.N. envoy believes that the best hope of pressing the combatants on the ground to observe his peace plan to which they signed up in April but have not implemented, is for the foreign powers on whose support they variously depend to agree on terms.”

And the main problem that needs to be addressed this coming Saturday, is the conflict in different approaches and decisions that Russia and the United States both want to make. One of the countries that has yet to announce its appearance is Iran, which is a key factor in resolving conflict. “I have made it quite clear that I believe Iran should be part of the solution,” Annan said in Geneva last Friday. “If we continue the way we are going and competing with each other, it could lead to destructive competition and everyone will pay the price.”

The reason for both Iran and Saudia Arabia being excluded from the conference is based on the Obama Administration not wanting them there. According to Tony Karan, reporter for Time World, “The Obama Administration cited Iran’s role in backing up Syria’s bloody crackdown to declare Tehran’s involvement a “red line” for participating in the Geneva talks, and Annan presumably left out Saudi Arabia as a compensatory gesture to Russia which insists that those countries arming and funding Syria’s rebels share major responsibility for escalating the conflict.

A state department official told reporters last week that “If Kofi Annan can get the proposed participants to agree on such a plan for political transition then there will be a meeting, but that’s what we need to find out before we go to any meeting. There’s no point in going just for the sake of it.”

Image Courtesy of  United Nations

The article UN Conference to be Held Soon, Hoping to End War in Syria appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

The Monarchy of Thailand is fed up over years of Thailand’s citizens criticizing the government and Thailand traditions. And, as more people are resorting to the Internet to speak out about their beliefs that collide with ancient Thailand traditions, the government has decided to finally take action.

According to Mobiledia, the government is “realizing the serious threats the technology, especially its social and mobile elements, can bring to governance and traditional beliefs. Countries around the globe are struggling to balance their population’s embrace of mobile communications with order, public safety and streamlining government affairs, and the challenges are beginning to show.”

Because governments in Kuwait, Turkey and Thailand revolve around what they believe, as each other’s survival, they believe that the citizens of these countries are damaging to each countries beliefs and values, while also damaging foreign relations with other countries. (Who is “they,” the government or the citizens?  What do you mean by “each other’s survival?” Can you rephrase this so it is more clear?)

The legal case that has grabbed international media attention revolves around Thailand resident Chiranuch Premchaiporn, a webmaster who manages a local news site, after she insulted Thailand’s king, 84-year-old Bhumibol Adulyadej. According to the ITTO (Who is the ITTO?), “Premchaiporn did not post the material, she is responsible for its message under Thailand’s Computer Crimes Act, a law which criminalizes hosting anti-monarchical content and puts content providers like Premchaiporn at risk for prison time if they fail to censor such comments quickly.” She had 11 days to remove the comments from her site but considering she failed to do so, Premchaiporn was sentenced to spend eight months in prison. Her sentencing was based on each comment that was derogatory toward the government, king, queen, or an heir.

Thailand has extremely strict consequences for those who go up against their government, with the standard penalty being a one year prison sentence for each insulting comment that is posted. However, Premachaiporn’s sentence was reduced based on her cooperation.

Thailand has extremely strict, what they call, “lese-majeste” laws which prohibits the public expression of criticism against the monarchy in any media form whether it be television, print, radio or the Internet.

According to Reporter Kendra Srivastava, “the sentence reflects Thailand’s long history of censorship, which is gaining attention and sparking controversy as technology advances in the digital age. Lese-majeste laws are also coming under fire with demands for reform due to the recent death of a 62-year-old man who was serving a 20-year jail sentence for insulting the king. A petition of almost 27,000 signatures calling for reform of the laws was delivered to the Thai parliament yesterday in response to the man’s death.”

Fortunately for other countries in Asia and the Middle East, governments are looking at ways to go about the penalties of violating censorship laws among its citizens. Rather than punishment, countries like Iran and Syria are exploring ways to limit the Internet’s reach to citizens by not allowing access to sites that can give them information to retaliate and denounce their governments as well as forbidding them to insult the religions and politics of their countries.

While Thailand is censoring the media to prevent the denouncement of their ancient beliefs that go centuries back, it might actually end up hurting the country’s future.

According to Srivastava, “Google called Premchaiporn’s sentence a threat to the potential of Thailand’s Internet economy.”

However, the real questions still remain. How far is censorship going to go? And, how far are these countries willing to risk the free speech of their citizens in order to save face for their governments? Is all this censorship worth the protests, deaths and detriment to these countries economies?

Image Courtesy of  AJP / Shutterstock.com

The article Internet Censorship Cracking Down in Thailand appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

The past Sunday saw even more protests in Turkey after the government insisted on a bill that would outlaw abortions only four weeks after conception, a time when many women are still unsure if they are pregnant. The law may also restrict the ability for women to elect for a Caesarian operation when giving birth. Unlike previous protests earlier in June, this protest was a response to the bill from mostly men and was held in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul.

A survey published in the Turkish newspaper HaberTurk showed that 55.5% of those interviewed about the ban were against the newly proposed law. Although the majority seem to oppose the creation of the law Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan is still trying to push it through. His party, AKP Party, has at least fifty percent of the votes in the parliament after the most recent parliamentary election in June of 2011.

Previously women have displayed their distaste of the proposed law with large protests. One woman stated, “we are here today because we are against this law that’s forbidding abortion because abortion is a woman’s right and this is not about abortion being a bad thing or anything. It’s about government wants woman to be only wife and mother and we are against it. We are individuals, we have rights.”

Erdogan opposes abortion and c-sections for several reasons. Erdogan is a moral and religious conservative and believes that abortion is murder. Additionally Erdogan believes that c-sections, which can limit how many children a woman can have, and abortions are conspiracies against the demographic growth in Turkey. In order to ensure Turkey’s future as one of the top economies in the world Erdogan wants the population to grow quickly. He also wants the Turkish population to grow faster than the Kurdish, which is currently not happening.

The new group protesting the ban is a group of men called “Irritated Men,” formed in 2008 in response to violence against women. The group gathered in Istanbul on 5 June 2012 to talk about the anti-abortion bill.

After comments made by the mayor of Ankara, “Irritated Men” decided something needed to be done. The Ankara mayor Melih Gökçek said “women kill their babies born out of adultery. Why do babies die because of these so-called mothers? Let mothers kill themselves.”

Orhan Cerav, the spokesman for the group, stated, “our agenda, up until a week ago was the murder of women, now we’re talking about an abortion ban.” The group also recognizes the need for male support. Cerav told Hürriyet Daily News: “public opposition by a male front is badly needed. That’s why we gathered. It’s not just women; men are also irritated by the government’s anti-abortion campaign, but we also should show it.”

The group “Irritated Men” was supposedly formed after the rape and murder of Italian artist Pippa Bacca. Bacca was hitchhiking to the Middle East from Europe in a wedding dress to promote world peace when she went missing in Turkey and was later found dead.

Image Courtesy homeros / Shutterstock.com

The article Turkey’s Anti-Abortion Bill Leads to More Protests appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Around 3000 women marched in Kadikoy Square in Ankara, Turkey June 3 2012 after Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan announced that members of his party, the AK Party, are drafting an anti-abortion bill. Some women were accompanied by husbands, boyfriends, and fathers. Many individuals held signs that held statements such as “my body, my choice” and “I am a woman not a mother, don’t touch my body.”

The protests were prompted after Erdogan delivered several speeches in which he called abortion “murder” and claimed that abortion and caesarean births are plots to halt Turkey’s economic growth.

Abortion of a fetus up to ten weeks after conception has been legal since 1983. This new law would require that women would only be able to get an abortion up to four weeks after conception except for emergencies.

Health Minister Recep Akdag is also planning to penalize hospitals that allow for women to get elective caesarean sections because, as he claims, it is “unnatural.” C-sections can also limit the number of children a woman can have to two, which is too little in the government’s opinion.

Caesarean birth rates are high in Turkey with forty percent of live births in 2009 being born by c-section. However, their abortion rates are already significantly lower than the rest of the world’s. In Turkey there are 14.8 abortions for every 1000 women whereas the UN world average is 28 abortions per 1000 women and 27 abortions per 1000 women in Europe.

Akdag has also stated that the government is willing to look after the babies of rape victims if necessary, but later clarified that they would not deny rape victims the right to an abortion.

According to Fusun Sirkeci, a London-based obstetrician and gynecologist, most women do not know they are pregnant until after the first four weeks of conception. Sirkeci also warns that limiting abortions may force “some women to terminate themselves which could potentially be fatal or disabling.”

Erdogan’s motivation is not only because he is a social and religious conservative. The prime minister wants to make Turkey’s economy enter the world’s top ten by 2023, but in order to do this he wants the population to grow at a faster rate. Erdogan has advocated for Turkish families having at least three children and has even pushed for five at times.

Erdogan is also trying to increase the Turkish population because of the high birth rate of the Kurds in southeast Turkey. The Kurds have been trying to break away from Turkey and form their own autonomous government. Deniz Ulke Aribogan, a professor at Bilgi University in Istanbul, claims “the problem is the rapid rise of population in eastern regions, while it has almost come to a standstill in western regions.”

The article Turkish Women Protest Anti-Abortion Bill appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

For years, women world-wide have been fighting for their rights and to have equality with their male counterparts. While some nations have progressed much more rapidly for the equality of women, other nations are still struggling to give women the rights and freedom that men have.

According to the dailybeast.com, “in the last year, Denmark elected a female prime minister, Brazil elected a female president and a female took the helm of the International Monetary Fund. In the last decade, Ethiopia passed the most progressive abortion laws in Africa to combat unsafe abortion rates and Mali passed a law that says women are not required to obey their husbands.

It seems the state of women’s rights and freedoms worldwide are perhaps better than ever before. But, large and sobering discrepancies remain. Women aren’t allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia, are subject to genital mutilation in Mali and are killed for honor in Pakistan.”

Another country, which is considered one of the worst to live in for women, is Turkey. Their rights are extremely limited. But for Turkish women, things might start looking up for those who have succumbed to inequality for decades. According to the United Press International (UPI), “the European Parliament (EP) recently adopted a report urging Turkey to follow up on its recent work toward securing gender equality and women’s rights.”

The report, written by Socialists & Democrats Member of European Parliament Emine Bozkurt, lays out a series of goals for Ankara, Turkey’s capitol, to accomplish by 2020 in raising the status of women to fully equal members of Turkish society as Brussels and Ankara seek to breathe life into the country’s stalled European Union (EU) accession bid.

Bozkurt, the EP’s rapporteur on women’s rights in Turkey, discussed the passage of the report and named it, “A 2020 Perspective for Women in Turkey” which is meant to ensure that the European Commission keeps the issue of women’s rights and domestic violence in the forefront of its efforts to promote a “positive agenda.” Also, the report “stresses that there can be no democracy without women and that women should be treated as individuals rather than just as family members or as mothers.”

While ministries are working toward gender equality in Turkey, many problems remain.

According to the report, Turkey’s new law against domestic violence “lacks a mechanism which immediately removes [alleged perpetrators] from the vicinity of the woman who has been subjected to violence.” Stefan Fule, the European Commissioner for Enlargement, believes Turkey still has a long way to go and that several inequalities still need to be addressed.

Fule says, “On women’s rights, every step needs to be taken to implement the recent law on violence against women, also, to improve the situation on the ground of women in Turkey as regards education, employment and political representation.”

Image Courtesy of  homeros / Shutterstock.com

The article Fighting for Women’s Equality in Turkey appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Fort Lauderdale, U.S.A - Voyages to Antiquity, the cruise industry’s premier specialty enrichment provider, has published its 2013 brochure including more port calls in the Western Mediterranean; itineraries to France and Spain; a stronger emphasis on Sicily, the epicenter of Ancient Rome 3500 years ago; additional Dalmatian Coast sailings from Venice along the Adriatic and an additional Black Sea voyage. The line continues to offer a unique array of experiences in Greece and Turkey.

“The Mediterranean itineraries are the heart and soul of Voyages to Antiquity and we endeavor to make each season full of unique experiences for our guests. This year we have expanded our product offerings in the Western Mediterranean while also providing an emphasis to the ancient civilizations found in Sicily,” said Mitchell J. Schlesinger, vice president of marketing and sales for Voyages to Antiquity.

“We’ve received growing support from prestigious organizations whose well-traveled clients are interested in an educational, enriching vacation experience, including Smithsonian Journeys, the Archaeological Institute of America and numerous alumni organizations.”

The Mediterranean season begins and ends with sailings between Cairo and Istanbul, highlighted by two Wonders of the World, as well as the following sites:

• Cairo to Istanbul – March 30, 2013 and Istanbul to Cairo – October 25, 2013

Western Mediterranean cruises along the Riviera coast include:

• Rome to Cannes – May 16, 2013

• Cannes to Venice – May 28, 2013

Itineraries highlighting the Adriatic’s Dalmatian Coast and the treasures of Sicily include:

• Istanbul to Athens – April 12 and September 9, 2013

• Athens to Venice – April 24 and September 21, 2013
  Venice to Athens – June 11, 2013

• Venice to Rome – May 6 and October 3, 2013

• Athens to Rome – June 23, 2013

• Rome to Istanbul – July 3 and October 13, 2013

Guest lecturers and celebrated speakers from around the world complement the in-depth shore experiences by bringing to life the art, history and culture of the Mediterranean region.  Regional foods and wines further immerse guests in the destinations visited.

Extraordinary value is a hallmark with cruise fares starting from $3995, including shore excursions with complimentary bottled water; gratuities to shipboard staff and wine, beer and soft drinks at dinner. To accommodate the significant demand from single guests, Voyages to Antiquity has increased the number of dedicated single cabins to 26 to complement single supplements in double occupancy cabins, which start from just 25%.

Roundtrip air is available from $595 per person from 60 North American gateways, including transfers and all air taxes and surcharges. Guests who book by September 30, 2012 can enjoy up to $1000 in stateroom savings on departures from March 30 through July 3, 2013.

The article Voyages to Antiquity Debuts 2013 Brochure appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Two months ago, journalists Adem Ozkose and Hamit Coskun were flown to Tehran to do some filming for a documentary. What they did not plan on documenting however, was the captivity they have endured for the past two months.

Ozkose, a reporter and Coskun, a cameraman, both with the magazine Gerçek Hayat and the daily Milat, were waiting for a plane to go home when they were captured on March 10.

“The journalists, as well as some Syrians who were accompanying them, were abducted by militia members known as shabiha at a checkpoint outside a Shiite town in the predominantly Sunni province,” Reporters Without Borders, a non-profit organization which defends the rights of journalists by advocating freedom of the press and the freedom of information, said.

According to the shabiha, they were abducted for illegally entering the country.

In the northwestern city of Idleb, a small Shiite town where the Turks were taken, rebel leaders attempted to negotiate with Syrian authorities for the journalists to be released, but were unsuccessful.

According to the IHH, a Turkish Islamist humanitarian non-governmental organization, it was announced on May 5 “that it had managed to visit the two detained journalists in Damascus. Turgut Alp Boyraz, the head of foreign news at Milat, said they were able to telephone their families on May 5 for the first time since their capture.”

Since the uprising of the Syrian people against President Bashar Assad started 14 months ago, relations between Turkey and Syria have worsened. According to Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Iran is said to have played a crucial role in the release of the prisoners, acting somewhat as a “mediator” between the two countries.

Additionally according to the LA Times, “since the Syrian uprising began last year in March, the country has been a dangerous place for foreign journalists to work. Most are not allowed to enter the nation and those who have received permission are often monitored. As a result, some journalists have sneaked into the country.”

And indeed it has become increasingly dangerous for journalists to report in foreign countries. Since the beginning of this year, six journalists have died as a result of working in a foreign country, including Remi Ochlik and Marie Colvin, who were killed while reporting on a monthlong bombardment of the Baba Amr neighborhood in Homs, according to Reporters Without Borders.

“Their release is a big relief,” the group said regarding the Turkish journalists. “But more than 37 journalists and citizen journalists are still detained in Syria. We must not forget them.”

Both Ozkose and Coskun were reported to be in good health and after being released on Saturday, will soon be reunited with their families.

Image Courtesy of   Kodak Agfa

The article Two Turkish Journalists Freed in Syria appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Kyiv, Ukraine – The global edition of The New York Times – International Herald Tribune – dedicated a page to Ukraine in their Friday issue (April 20th). Articles on Ukraine included a feature on the European integration, article on trade with Middle East, as well as a piece sketching Ukraine – Turkey cooperation.

The page titled Partners in Growth begins with an analysis of prospects of enhancing commercial ties with Turkey. “Turkey is an important exporter to Ukraine, sending its food products – especially fruit and nuts – cars and clothes,” reads the text. Ukraine, in return, exports steel products, mineral fertilizers, and chemical and agricultural products to Turkey, says the article.

Summarizing the pros of closer cooperation with Turkey, the piece reminds that such policy fits within the so-called third way strategy outlined by the Ukrainian foreign minister Kostiantyn Gryshchenko. It suggests that an active foreign policy of increasing trade with non-EU and non-CIS states needs to be implemented.

The article on Ukraine’s European integration explains the role of Association Agreement on the way toward becoming a part of the EU. “Polish diplomats hailed the treaty [Association Agreement] as a breakthrough that puts Ukraine directly into the EU orbit,” says the text of the piece that looks onto the possibilities that agreement opens for Ukraine.

According to the article in the International Herald Tribune, Association Agreement targets to eventually lead to a political association and a free-trade area between Ukraine and the EU. Quoting the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Andriy Klyuyev, the article states that a free-trade area with the EU would boost the Ukrainian economy by two percent. Overall, association with Europe would allow Ukraine adopt high European standards, reckoned Minister Gryshchenko.

The International Herald Tribune also informs that the country is an important supplier of grain, goods and expertise to the countries of Middle East and North Africa. Unsurprisingly, Ukraine exports large amounts of grain to the region. Moreover, in October of 2011 the Ukrainian parliament ratified an agreement with Saudi Arabia on space cooperation.

The article puts focus on relations with Egypt and Saudi Arabia as Ukraine’s most active partners in the region.

Incidentally, Ukraine got exclusive coverage in The Washington Post in their February 1st special edition.

Image Courtesy of  Anton Gvozdikov / Shutterstock.com

The article Ukraine: Tribute of International Herald Tribune appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Bloomberg philanthropies will commit an additional $220 million to fight tobacco use around the world and stem this growing global public health crisis bringing Bloomberg’s total commitment to more than $600 million. The announcement was made at the 15th World Conference on Tobacco or Health in Singapore.

Building on six years of substantial progress, Bloomberg Philanthropies’ four-year commitment will fund efforts to reduce the toll of tobacco in low- and middle-income countries, home to almost 80% of the world’s smokers.

“Tobacco kills every day, we need to keep the fight moving forward and keep the momentum going,” said Michael R. Bloomberg. “In low- and middle-income countries alone, an additional 1.2 billion people are now covered by at least one of six proven tobacco control policies – more than doubling the number of people protected in just five years. When these measures are implemented, the results are clear: fewer people use tobacco and they live longer, healthier lives.”

Through 2011, a total of 2.2 billion people worldwide are covered by at least one effective tobacco control policy – representing about one-third of the world’s population. Completely smoke-free laws – for public spaces — are in effect in 38 countries, protecting one billion people.

The Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use is the world’s largest coordinated effort to reduce the harm caused by tobacco globally. The Initiative supports the efforts of governments and non-governmental organizations to increase tobacco taxes, educate media and citizens on the negative impacts of tobacco, protect nonsmokers from exposure to other people’s smoke and help people quit.

“The Bloomberg Initiative, and support from Bloomberg Philanthropies, has transformed the effort to drastically reduce the number of people harmed by tobacco. It is making a difference and saving lives in ways not before possible,” said Matthew L. Myers, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids President. “Their long-standing commitment to fighting big tobacco in places where citizens are most vulnerable has made Bloomberg Philanthropies a powerful global force in taking on this daunting challenge.”

Eighteen countries including Brazil, Turkey and Pakistan with almost 750 million citizens have passed 100% smoke-free laws. Several of the world’s largest cities have also gone smoke-free, including Mexico City, Jakarta, and China’s Harbin City which passed that nation’s strongest tobacco control law to date.

The article Bloomberg to Strengthen Fight Against Global Tobacco Use appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

For the 27th year, thousands of Armenian Americans and their supporters will gather in Times Square (Broadway between 43rd and 44th Streets) to commemorate the first genocide of the 20th Century: the Armenian Genocide (1915-23). To be held on Sunday, April 22, 2012 from 2-4 PM, this historic event will pay tribute to the 1.5 million Armenians who were annihilated by the Young Turk Government of the Ottoman Empire.

The Commemoration will also celebrate the survival and spirit of the Armenian people, their rich heritage and global contributions. Major political figures will speak as well as civic, humanitarian and educational leaders. This event is free and open to the public.

The theme of the Commemoration is “Turkey Is Guilty of Genocide; Denying the Undeniable Is a Crime.” Most recently, France has strongly reinforced its position on denying the Armenian Genocide. On Monday, January 23, 2012, the French Senate passed a bill in a 127 to 86 vote to criminalize the denial of the Armenian Genocide.

The bill is scheduled to be signed within the next few weeks by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose UMP party championed the measure to become law. The new bill will punish anyone who denies the Armenian Genocide with a year in jail and fine of 45,000 euros (around $57,000).

Armenian Genocide experts Dennis R. Papazian, PhD, National Grand Commander of Knights of Vartan, and Dr. Arthur Kubikian, former Chairman of the Armenian Genocide Commemoration in Times Square (1999 and 2006), are available for media interviews. Armenian Genocide survivors (ages 99+) are also available to discuss their eyewitness accounts as refugees from the Armenian Genocide.

Their painful accounts of the horrendous horrors and mass destruction they witnessed and lived through are critical contributions to world history. Dr. Papazian comments, “There is no question that when genocide goes unpunished, it makes other perpetrators discount the possibility of being punished for their transgressions.

The Turkish government to this day continues to deny the reality of the first genocide of the 20th Century, the Armenian Genocide, which opened the door to all the genocides of the 20th and 21st centuries, including the Holocaust, Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda and Darfur. In fact, when Hitler sent his Death Heads troops into Poland at the beginning of World War II, he said, ‘Go. Kill without mercy. Who today remembers the extermination of the Armenians?’”

ISSUES TO EXPLORE WITH EXPERTS:

• Why do the Armenians and supporters commemorate the Armenian Genocide?
• Why is the Turkish government denying the Armenian Genocide and what would be the outcomes if the Turkish government acknowledged the Genocide?
• What major world historical events have taken place in the 20th and 21st centuries because of the denial of the Armenian Genocide by the Turkish Ottoman Empire and other nations?

The 97th Commemoration is organized by the Mid-Atlantic chapters of Knights & Daughters of Vartan, http://www.knightsofvartan.org, http://www.knightsofvartan.ca, an international Armenian fraternal organization, and co-sponsored by Armenian General Benevolent Union, http://www.agbu.org;

Armenian Assembly of America, http://www.aaainc.org; Armenian National Committee of America, http://www.anca.org; Armenian Council of America; and ADL-Ramgavars.

Participating Organizations: Diocese of the Armenian Church, Prelacy of the Armenian Church, Armenian Missionary Association of America, Armenian Presbyterian Church, Armenian Evangelical Church, Armenian Catholic Eparchy for US and Canada, Mid-Atlantic ACYOA, AYF, and Armenian Youth Organizations.

Paul McKinnon / Shutterstock.com

The article Armenian Genocide’s Commemoration to Be Held in Times Square on April 22 appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

As cold winter weather brings misery for the survivors of Turkey’s October and November earthquakes, Islamic Relief USA— a relief and development organization based in the D.C. metro area— is supporting 615 children between the ages of 6 and 16 in Van province.

The 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck near the city of Van, killing 601 people and injuring 4,152.  According to the Disasters and Emergency Situations Directorate of Turkey, at least 11,232 buildings were damaged, and 6,017 were found to be uninhabitable.  An aftershock measuring 5.6 rocked the city of Van on November 9, 2011, and caused the collapse of more than 25 buildings, including apartments, two hotels, and a children’s hospital.

This project is providing the 615 children and their families with winter clothing, food, and hygiene kits. Children will receive daily food baskets for 40 days containing milk, fruit juice, sandwiches, sweet tahini bars, and seasonal fruits.  Islamic Relief also is providing hygiene kits containing two months worth of needs for 398 households, including hand soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, detergent for clothes, and dishwashing, shavers, diapers, and other items.

Islamic Relief USA, based in Alexandria, Virginia, is a nonprofit humanitarian organization with eight consecutive 4-star ratings from Charity Navigator. Its mission is to alleviate suffering, hunger, illiteracy, and disease regardless of color, race, gender, or creed, and to provide aid in a compassionate and dignified manner.

Islamic Relief USA aims to provide rapid relief in the event of human and natural disasters and to establish sustainable local development projects, allowing communities to better help themselves.  In 2010, Islamic Relief USA programs benefited more than 3.4 million people in 34 countries, including the United States.

In addition to its 4-star rating on Charity Navigator, Islamic Relief USA meets all of the Standards for Charity Accountability of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, a national charity monitoring group affiliated with the Better Business Bureau system.   Islamic Relief USA is on the U.S. government’s Combined Federal Campaign charity list, and it is also a signatory to the code of conduct of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

The article Islamic Relief USA Gives Donations to Survivors of Turkey Earthquake appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

After a 7.2 magnitude earthquake rocked Turkey on Sunday, people are scrambling to rescue those who may still be buried underneath the rubble of destroyed buildings. The southeastern region of Turkey was badly hit by the earthquake, where the death toll has soared to over 400.

Over 1,300 people have been injured because of this natural disaster. As time speeds forward, the amount feared dead is expected to rise. Thousands of buildings have collapsed due to the destructive power of the earthquake, burying people within layers of concrete and debris. The town of Van is one of the hardest hit areas in Turkey, along with Ercis.

The southeastern region of Turkey is heavily mountainous and is considered to be one of the poorest areas of the country. Turkey is located on a geological fault line that makes it highly susceptible to destructive earthquakes. 90 countries from around the world have stretched out their funds towards Turkey in hopes of rescuing potential survivors and providing aid.

Turkey’s government has held by its strong stance of providing for its own country and has only accepted the help from neighboring countries Azerbaijan and Iran. Turkey is continuously being pressured to agree to international aid as the devastation from the earthquake continues to take a toll on its citizens.

The government is receiving much criticism for not accepting international aid when hundreds of people are still missing. Many of the hard to reach areas are remote villages. Rescue efforts have not been able to travel to these areas because roads are impassable.

Typical villages in this area have houses made out of clay and mud, which are materials that are not made to withstand the powers of a 7.2 magnitude earthquake. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish Prime Minister, believes that the majority of the buildings in these remote villages are completely destroyed.

Turkey’s Health Ministry has set up a crisis center in Ankara, while the hardest hit areas of Turkey have had help from international relief organizations. 2,300 emergency personnel have arrived to the hardest hit areas of the region by Monday and continue searching for people in collapsed buildings.

Upcoming weather forecasts will undeniably play a role in the rescue efforts as overnight freezing temperatures are predicted, as well as snow. Hundreds of aftershocks have played a detrimental role in rescuing people, often making it hard to make successful rescues. Positive rescue efforts have been seen throughout the hard hit areas.

On Tuesday, an infant girl at just two weeks old was rescued with her mother and grandmother within their destroyed home. Their family was taken to a hospital in Ercis, near the town of Van, where much of the earthquake’s impact was felt. There are many organizations that are helping with the earthquake crisis and a numerous amount of ways people can donate to this unfortunate disaster.

The Turkish Red Crescent has set up tents for those who have become homeless after the earthquake, along with providing food and water for thousands. Donations are being accepted by the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund. Donations can be made on the website of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Society.

From the United States, people can donate $10 by calling (941) 907-6036 or text “SHELTER” to 20222.

The article Rescue Efforts Continue After Turkish Earthquake appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

The importance of social media in Turkey has increased considerably in recent years, which in turn has led to a mounting interest in the phenomenon and its overall impact on the Turkish society. Sharing her opinions on the matter, Gulay Ozkan, a Turkish internet and mobile entrepreneur, suggests that the increasing popularity of social media is mainly to do with the large percentage of young people in the country’s current population.

Different types of social media, such as Facebook or Youtube, can indeed be very appealing to young people all over the world. Turkey is a country where 70 percent of the population is actually under 35 years of age, a fact that makes her explanation both valid and rational. “Social Media is a very hot topic at the moment as it brings freedom to a culture that traditionally is shy”, Gulay says.

She lays emphasis on the idea that social media offers free and open communication, which is perhaps the aspect that appeals the most to young Turkish users. Currently, the most popular social network in Turkey is Facebook. The popularity of the well-known networking website rose to such an extent that Turkey has now become the fourth largest nationality on Facebook in the world.

However, Twitter and personal blogs have also gained popularity recently. Turkey’s mobile penetration is larger than internet penetration, which is an immediate consequence of people’s using mobile phones to access their favorite social networks. Gulay also predicts that this trend will grow even more in the future.

Increasing internet censorship is still a problem in Turkey, a situation that has led to numerous protests organized by youth groups. Although some networks such as Youtube may still be banned there, the restriction does not seem to prevent young Turkish people from freely accessing it by using DNS switching and other proxy settings.

This can be interpreted as a sign that the population is ready and wishes to open up to the new form of communication. In fact, it has been this extensive use of social media which have allow Turkey to join the global community. Information spreads far easier and faster via different kinds of social media outlets than via traditional media or educational platforms.

The importance of social media also extends to Turkey’s public relations campaign. There are many instances when international public opinion on Turkey have been shaped and influenced through the use of social media, which should propel the country to engage more in the use of social media as a means of promoting its own image.

One such example is the case of Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan abruptly leaving a panel discussion on Gaza with Israeli president Shimon Peres in 2009. His gesture received a lot of media attention. At the time, hundreds of thousands visited Youtube to watch the video of the Prime Minister. Links of the video began to be circulated via Facebook, fan groups and other web applications were launched, all of them carrying the name of Erdogan.

The politicization of social media in Turkey is becoming more and more obvious. Many analysts recognize the role social media is starting to play in politics. “For the past two years, as the political environment has become more severe, the political weight of social media has increased,” Ozgur Uckan, a professor at Bilgi University, said in an interview discussing the relation between social media and politics in contemporary Turkey.

“Blogs on the one hand and social media on the other have begun transforming into a political agora, a forum space,” he added. However, the politicization of social media is seriously threatened by internet censorship. Besides Youtube, many other websites, such as Blogger, have also been banned in Turkey. This phenomenon has led to the foundation of groups such as “Don’t Touch My Blog”

Moreover, national protests have been organized in reaction to the government’s attempts to impose internet censorship. Such is the case of the national, multi-locational protests that took place on May 15 in response to legislation planned to impose filters on internet access.

“I think we will see more of these sorts of interactions in the future,” says Yaman Akdeniz, a law professor at Bilgi University, who also added that political parties themselves have begun using social media in their campaigns.
Faraways / Shutterstock.com

The article The Importance of Social Media in Turkey appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Israel has been having its fair share of domestic and international problems recently. Tel-Aviv has become the latest staging ground for large-scale demonstrations which protesters rallying against economic stagnation and dwindling opportunities for Israelis.

The social protest movement boasted an estimated 500,000 people who marched down Rothschild Boulevard where a massive tent has been put up to initially demonstrate against rising housing prices. The protests have been fueled by dissatisfaction with the direction of the Israeli economy – a historically state-run enterprise that has been increasingly privatized in recent years.

The latest rally in Tel-Aviv on September fell short of its advertised goal of one million people. Protests in other cities added to the numbers with tens of thousands of demonstrators taking to the streets around the country, according to local reports.

Israeli Arabs, a large number of whom live below the poverty level, have joined the demonstrations, lending credence to the assertion that the whole of the Israeli population is represented and not just the elites or upper/middle classes. A row with Turkey has also threatened to boil over after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to apologize for last year’s military action aboard the Gaza-bound Mavi Marmara.

A recently released UN report has established that Israeli commandos used unreasonable force during the raid of the ship. Netanyahu regretted the loss of life but refused to apologize, saying that Israel would unconditionally defend its soldiers “in every forum.” In response, Turkey expelled its Israeli ambassador, froze all military agreements and pacts with Israel and threatened legal action against the country.

Relations between Israel’s right-wing coalition lead by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkey’s Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a champion of the Palestinian cause, have never been robust but seems likely to become even icier in the future.

The Palestinian Authority is also gearing up for an imminent bid for final status – effectively statehood – as the United Nations Generally Assembly reconvenes. Although the Obama administration has promised to exercise the United State’s veto power if the measure were to come before the Security Council, the bid comes at a bad time for Israel internationally.

It threatens to highlight the state’s decades-long occupation of the Palestinian territories, as well as alleged human rights violations there. These economic, social, and international travails are making the way forward seem even hazier for Israel.

In the past year, both the botched raid on the aid flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip and the government’s defiant refusal to halt further construction of settlements in occupied territory, have skewed the image of Israel to the world — especially in conjunction with a recent ceasefire-violating missile strike in Gaza. Israel seems to have alienated itself from its allies and the international community at large.

Mikhail Levit / Shutterstock.com

The article A Bad Week for Israel appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Turkey has proposed its new vision for a new system in the Middle East based on an alliance with Egypt, at a time when the Arab Spring continues to stir revolutions and popular uprisings against various rulers of the region.

According to The Washington Post, this proposition was presented by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davut Oglu. Oglu’s proposal came after weeks of deteriorating and strained relations with both Syria and Israel, and following Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s latest visit to various Arab countries including Egypt.

Oglu accompanied Ardugan alongside 280 Turkish business men to Egypt and he stated that over $1 Billion were signed in contracts in one day. Turkey holds Israel responsible for the collapse of the relations between both states because of its refusal to apologize to the Turkish government and people, as well as compensating for the victims of the Gaza flotilla incident.

Oglu also accused Syrian President Bashar Al Assad of being dishonest after Turkish officials gave the latter a final chance to save his regime by ceasing the unjust and violent suppression of Syrian protestors demanding change, which has not stopped.

Oglu is seen as the architect of successful Turkish foreign policies in the Middle East in which Turkey has emerged as both a credible and imperative player with the Islamic world in the turbulent region.

This alliance is proposed on the basis that both countries possess two of the most powerful armies in the region, are of the most populated, and able to exert a considerable amount of influence; in a time where Oglu explained that the US’ control of the Middle East is decreasing steadily.

“This will not be an axis against any other country – not Israel, not Iran, not any other country, but this will be an axis of democracy, real democracy, this will be an axis of democracy of the two biggest nations in our region, from the north to the south, from the Black Sea down to the Nile Valley in Sudan,” he added.

The article Turkey Pushes for New Alliance with Egypt appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

11^th European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) started with a beautiful opening ceremony in Trabzon, Turkey on July 24. Olympic games start on July 25 and they take 5 days to complete. This will be the first olympic organization of  Turkey.

For the 11^th European Youth Olympic Festival, about 4000 people, who are athletes, technical teams and managers, came from 49 countries. In the Olympics there are 9 branches. They are basketball, volleyball, tennis, judo, swim, bike, gymnastics, athleticism and handball.

Opening ceremony started with an announcer’s “welcome speech” at 20.00 (Turkish Time) then countries came to the stadium and took their seats in alphabetical order. First country was Greece because the first Olympics were played in Greece. Last country was host Turkey and Turkey has a maximum participation with 140 athletes. Cultural section started after countries. In this section Turkey’s traditional dances called ‘Horon’ and other dances were played by some group of dancers and Eyof-2011’s volunteers.

Firstly Sport Minister of Turkey, Suat Kılıç; after that President of Unity of European Olympics Committee Patrick Hickey; lastly Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan talked in the opening ceremony. Patrick Hickey spoke about Norway’s terrorist attack and one minute of silence was held for dead people. When Recep Tayyip Erdoğan started to say his speech, he wanted this one minute of silence for the 20 people who died due to terrorist attacks.

After Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s speech 11^th European Youth Olympic Festival was officially started. Four athletes carried Olympics torch and Olympic flame burned and Olympic flag was hung.

Finally, Turkish singer Mustafa Sandal gave a concert and opening ceremony finished with this concert. Opening ceremony took about three hours.

Pete Niesen / Shutterstock.com

The article European Youth Olympic Festival 2011: Beautiful Opening in Trabzon, Turkey appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Reporters Without Borders recently released a detailed report regarding the freedom of speech in Turkey, with the title of “A Book is Not a Bomb!” The prime minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan has a “great” contribution for this title, since he likened a book with a bomb at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), trying to rebuff the questions of freedom of press in Turkey:

“It is a crime to use a bomb, but it is also a crime to use materials from which a bomb is made. If informed that all materials needed to construct a bomb have been placed in a certain location, wouldn’t the security forces collect these materials?”

This outrageous claim refers to the seizure of journalist Ahmet Sik’s unpublished book “The Army of Imam” on March 24, which unveils the “deep state” in Turkey.

In Turkey, more than 57 journalists are being held in prison at the moment, mainly referring to the Ergenekon trial which claimed to be a terrorist movement organising a coup d’etat against the ruling party AKP. The crediblity of the Ergenekon case is very much under suspicion, because of the convictions of reliable journalists and intellectuals of the country. There are several indictments of thousands of pages since October 2008 and the wave of arrests are continuing without a trial, without reaching a definite verdict.

Ergenekon trial is mainly based on the conflict between islamist-rooted ruling party AKP, and seculars who depend on the founder of the Turkish Republic, Kemal Atatürk.

Reporters Without Borders’ Turkey report, deals with some top issues regarding freedom of press in Turkey, namely the Ergenekon Case, the imprisonment of two influential investigative journalists, Ahmet Sik and Nedim Sener, the impact of Fethullah Gulen cult on Turkey’s politics, the repressive laws against freedom of speech, and the issue of independency of media.

One of the conspicuous remarks on the report, is that many journalists feel under pressure, and it has became a crime to have an opposing attitude against the government, since journalists are being accused of being a part of a terrorist organisation without any kind of proof. The seizure of an unpublished book is one of the obvious proofs how dangerous and terrifying the situation is in Turkey.

Despite of the claim of the ruling party, that they are the pioneers of Turkish democracy, many people feel under pressure regarding freedom of speech and media. The arbitrary arrests of the journalists, and the defence of the authorities by likening a book with a bomb, unfortunately causes a big disgrace for the country’s democracy challenge.

Reporters Without Borders’ Turkey report reveals the unstable and unreliable environment in the country, especially when it comes to freedom of speech. The ridiculous enforcements, for example the internet censorship and the overwhelming pressure on journalists who are only doing their jobs, are some of the stains on country’s modern and democratic face.

Despite the protests all over the country, Turkey still seems to hold on to the current situation. Especially after the results of 2011 elections, it seems that the importance of the freedom of speech and media has not been realised yet. Still the struggle has to be persisted with the motto “A book is not a bomb!”.

Please find the special report of Reporters Without Borders here: http://en.rsf.org/turkey-fact-finding-mission-a-book-is-not-16-06-2011,40471.html

The article Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s Disgrace of Freedom of Press appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Located 45 km east of Antalya, Turkey, Aspendos Antique Theater presenting a 2000 years history, with an incredible acoustic. As an ancient Roman theater Aspendos is one of the best-preserved theaters, and since 1994 every year, Turkey is hosting its most important and wonderful organization which brings many different cultures in an atmosphere which is full of history, nature and beauty.

Aspendos is a magical, and one of the most fascinating ancient theater in the world, with a capacity of about 10.000 audience. The acoustic of the theater is marvellous, which transmits the sound naturally to the audience, thus there’s no need to use any kind of sound system.

The beauty of this antique theater and the region its located, makes Turkey an attraction center for many years. Aspendos International Opera and Ballet Festival gives a chance to opera and ballet lovers to enjoy their time, in an extraordinary atmosphere combining history, music, dance and beauty. The festival could be an interesting experience for the audience, and give them a chance to explore one of the most spectacular places in Turkey, where they may find the opportunity to seize the culture, art and beauty at the same time.

This year, Turkish State Opera and Ballet is organising 18th Aspendos International Opera and Ballet Festival, beginning on Thursday, 9th of June.

This year’s festival will begin with Bizet’s splendid opera Carmen represented by Istanbul State Opera and Ballet. One of the highlights of this year is Vienna Philarmonic Orchestra’s performance with a team of 125 people on 21th of June. The orchestra is conducted by the world-famous conductor, Zubin Mehta. They will perform Stravinsky’s “Symphony in Three Movements”, Beethoven’s “Piano Concerto No.3″, and Strauss’s “Don Quixote”. The festival will have its closure on 2nd of July, with Puccini’s “Tosca”, which will be performed by Abay Kazakhstan Academic State Opera and Ballet.

Other works will take place in the festival are Luigi Cherubini’s “Medea”, Verdi’s “Otello”, “Barbarossa” (choreography by Beyhan Murphy, and music by Mercan Dede), Mozart’s “The Abduction From The Seraglio”, and Tchaikovksy’s “Swan Lake”.

The Aspendos Opera and Ballet Festival, is a member of European Festival Association (EFA) since 2003.

For further information and the details of the program, please check the Festival’s official website:

http://www.aspendosfestival.gov.tr/index_e.html

Antalya, Turkey

Aspendos Antique Theater

The article 18th Aspendos Opera and Ballet Festival appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Turkey is about to hold its parliamentary elections on June 12 but the campaign period has been a grotesque nightmare for the far-rights in the country. The main issue has been a group called Farklı Ülkücülük (English: ‘Different Idealism’) which started posting explicit sex videos online last month, showing senior members of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) engaging in sexual acts with women – in one case a prostitute and in another example, a 16-year-old girl.

The scandal has forced ten members of the party, including front runners for the election, to resign. According to voanews.com, MHP leader Devlet Bahceli is accusing the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of financially supporting the group behind the website but Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of the AKP has angrily denied the charges.

“We did what we could so far on this issue,” PM Erdogan told the press. “Bahceli is trying to blame the government for his internal problem.”

The explosive sex scandal is the latest in a ‘dirty tricks’ campaign of unprecedented proportions. The Turkish political scene seems to have hit a new low as the media has been able to expose video surveillance and phone tapping of politicians, government officials and journalists. According to Danish daily Politiken, the previous leader of MHP resigned last year following a similar smear campaign.

The identity of the people behind the recent sex tapes is still undetermined. Across one of the videos, the group wrote a statement that urged the resignation of the entire opposition which some are taking as a sign that the group stands for highly loyal ultra-nationalists. Whether or not this is the case, the extremely bad publicity of the opposition is only beneficiary for the ruling party. Commentators have expressed their concern that if the election is determined on the scandalous campaign, the PM could end up with an absolute majority in parliament – meaning the AKP can legislate without gaining the support of other parties.

As a politician, it would be difficult for Erdogan not to take advantage of the embarrassing situation his opponents are in. More so, since the religious segments in the Turkish society is where the big vote is won. In an interview, the Turkish PM said about the nature of the case: “Those women were not their wives so why should it be a matter of their private lives?” He also referred to the MHP as a brothel in the same interview. Similarly, he stated that it goes against the Muslim Turkish society to call ‘questions of immoral actions’ a private matter.

The MHP has accused the Turkish media of bias but for the Erdogan-supporting parts of the press, a sex scandal of these proportions is hard to ignore. What defines the pro-AKP press is their unwillingness to differentiate between the sheep and the herd.

“Many are now asking how a party like the MHP, who can’t seem to get conservatism and nationalism straight, has become a party that doesn’t hesitate to violate these values,” wrote Fatma Disli Zabak, a Turkish commentator.

With under a week until the polls open, it is possible that more disclosures and resignations will come but so far, the damage seems done. The AKP is looking shinier than ever while the MHP is facing a serious challenge if they expect to regain the people’s trust.

Image provided by World Economic Forum

The article Sex Scandals Derail Turkey’s National Elections appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Turkey’s upcoming general election will be held on 12th of June 2011. AKP (Development and Justice Party) established two governments since 2002, and is the ruling party since then.

Despite the claims of the ruling party, the country is facing hard times. Poverty, unemployment, Kurt issue, abridgment of freedom of speech, decadence and indecency in politics, led Turkey into a deep crisis, but the ruling party is pressuring the citizens with the claim of stability.

The main principles of Turkish constitiution, that Turkey is a secular and democratic republic, is at stake since many people are afraid of the secularism of Turkey is in danger. In the spring of 2007, millions who shared the concern that Turkey’s politics are getting conservative, rallied to defend Turkey’s secular democrasy. Neglecting the concerns and fears of many people, State minister and Deputy minister Bulent Arinc, recently declared that, the main thing that keeps Turkish people together is not secularism but the religion Islam. This comment made people even more worried, since it compromises the basis of Turkish foundation which depends on secularism as a guarentee of the protection of different point of views and beliefs.

AKP’s enforcements such as, the new polemical regulation of internet filtering, the alcohol ban in events, festivals and organisations where young people under 24 attend with the claim that the aim of protecting young people from alcoholism, are some proofs that disclose the ruling party’s oppressive mentality. Turkey’s top administrative court recently cancelled the alcohol ban, since the law sets for drinking age as 18 and not 24.

About the internet restrictions, when the Turkish Industry and Business Association (TUSIAD), declared their concerns, the Deputy minister Bulent Arinc accused TUSIAD of being an unreliable organisation, and by adressing the chairman of TUSIAD, Umit Boyner, said that, “they can liberate porn sites and sites which contain violence, when they have the charge”. Umit Boyner in her written press release, declared that she found Deputy Minister’s attitude as terrifying. It seems that the voice of Turkish people who stands for their individual rights such as freedom of speech, is taken by government as being a fan of porn and violence.

Freedom of press in Turkey is not pleasant at all. Many journalists are in jail in Turkey mainly because of the “anti-terror” law. International Press Institute, in its press release on 4th April, 2011, mentioned  the report of OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) which indicates that at least 57 journalist are being held in prison. On 13th April 2011, at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), reffering to the reporter Ahmet Sik’s being held at prison because of his “unpublished book”, Prime Minister Erdogan responded PACE members’ questions about freedom of speech in Turkey, in outrage, claiming that “It is a crime to use a bomb, but it is also a crime to use materials from which a bomb is made. If informed that all materials needed to construct a bomb have been placed in a certain location, wouldn’t the security forces collect these materials?”. The Prime Minister of  Turkey in 21st century, basically compared a book with a bomb.

When it comes to political decency, Turkey represents a failure. Before 2011 elections, opposing parties had to deal with sex tape scandals. On 2010 Deniz Baykal, the former leader of the opposing party CHP (The Republican People’s Party), resigned because of a tape that he claimed to be a conspiracy. And now the other opposing party MHP (Nationalist Action Party) is facing the same issues and the scandal caused 10 resignations inside the party during May. This scandal also resulted by the ban of more websites such as Rapidshare.

One of the main problems that Turkey comes face to face with every time, is the regulation of general election in Turkey, since every party has to take the 10% of the votes in order to enter the parliament. That means, according to the results of last election, approximately 11% of the electors could not be represented in the parliament. It is clear that Turkey needs a brand new constitution which has to bring new regulations, such as  the general election law, the parliamentary immunity,  the anti-terror law, and many others.

Turkey’s one of the biggest issue, Kurt issue has to be solved, approaching to the case with neither Turkish nor Kurdish nationalism. A deeper action must be taken by improving the individual rights and conditions, and by taking into account people’s prosperity without dividing them as Turks and Kurts.

There’s an urge to take a further step for Turkey’s democracy challenge. The tendency of ruling party’s using religion as a tool, is transforming the country’s modern and democratic face into a conservative and oprresive mentality. The main issues of Turkey should be discussed despite the manipulations of politicians.  As a country in between, Turkey has to recognise its innermost problems and stand for most basic rights, without having the fear of unstability as the ruling party claims. People in Turkey do not have to live in such nonsense, or compromise the basic rights, just to sustain stability. Who knows, “chaos” could lead us to a better life.

The article Democracy Challenge of a Country in Between: Turkey Before 2011 Elections appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

This past Sunday, 15th of May, a huge demonstration against liberty of expression was performed by hundred of thousand Turkish citizens. They all represented a mash up of Internet users, and gathered together in Taksim Square, located in  the center of Istanbul. They protested against the “draft bill that was appealed by Bianet in an application filed to the Council of State in April” (Bianet).

The demonstration was organized through Facebook and Twitter. The citizens walked through Istiklal Avenue. The main message they want to send out was  that the freedom of expression and right to access information of Internet should not be obstructed. Many organizations such as the Linux Users Association, the LGBTT initiative LambdaIstanbul, the Hands off the Internet Initiative, also many different groups took part in the manifestation.

The walk lasted around three hours, with the support of 31 Turkish provinces. The citizens protested against the filtering system, which will come into effect on August 22nd of the present year. Which will ban sites such as Youtube, Blogspot, WordPress and many other thousands of websites in Turkey.

The people express themselves by shouting and showing slogans that contains phrases as: “Internet without TiB”, “The strings of the BTK are attached to Fetullah’s hand” and “ Hands off our freedom, opinions, books and Internet”.

In a press released exposed and emitted by the Sourtimes, the declaration of May 15^Th, 2011 regarding some great points about why fundamental rights and Freedoms Cannot Be Obstructed are exposed:

• The BTK (IT and Communications Institute) decision dated 02/22/2011 with number 2011/DK-10/91 lacks legal basis. The unjust decision gives BTK a right, which is not prescribed by law. The legal decision also limits basic rights and freedoms protected by the Constitution and international treaties directly. While open and unfiltered Internet access is being regarded as a basic human right by international institutions, in Turkey filtered Internet is about to become “the standard”

• The comments made by the BTK president claiming the “standard profile” is the current standard and anybody who opts-out will be left out of the filtering system are not correct. Neither there is a notion called neither “the standard profile” nor an established filter mechanism currently. With the forthcoming mechanism it will not be possible to stay out of the filtering system. If the government officials are really sincere they have to provide an “unfiltered” alternative to Internet users in Turkey.

• Internet is about to become “the standard”. “The BTK filtering system which will take effect on August 22nd, 2011 is unpredictable by the users, arbitrary, and essentially a control and censorship mechanism structurally. The criteria for filtering websites through the different profiles under the BTK system are not disclosed to Internet users. The full authority to build and maintain the filtering lists is handed to BTK by BTK itself. Now BTK will render hundreds of thousands of websites unreachable arbitrarily which is far beyond the current disproportional blocking caused by Law No. 5651. Illegitimate, disproportional and arbitrary administrative operations are unacceptable in a democratic country.

• Similar to previous blocking decisions, state officials are trying to use irrelevant countries as examples to legitimize their unjustified decisions. They are intentionally perverting the description of various state policies in their justifications. It is impossible to accept the state officials’ appeal to negative examples from across the globe to interfere with everybody’s lives in Turkey.

• Member states must encourage the use of filtering software in houses, school computers and Internet cafes but must avoid employing mandatory nationwide filtering policies.If filter use is found appropriate by families, that should be use on their own personal computers.

The article Turkish Citizens Take The Streets For The Biggest Demonstration Defending Freedom of Speech appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

In an article for the Danish newspaper Jyllands-posten, freelance journalist Pola Rojan took a look at the state of press freedom in Turkey, the country at EU’s border which has tried to gain full membership of the Union since 1987. What he found was a country who had started to take the rights of journalists increasingly less serious in what seems to be a deliberate attempt from the government to stifle freedom of speech.

Mid-February, the newly appointed American ambassador to Turkey, Francis Ricciardone, expressed concern over the increased number of cases against journalists and his statement received immediate support from the Foreign Ministry in Washington. At the same time, several international investigations have pointed out the exact same development in the Turkish state. At the start of February, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) concluded in their yearly report that the situation for journalists in Turkey was a great cause of concern. The organization refers to the around 4.000 journalists who are currently on trail at the Turkish court, hundreds of them already serving prison sentences.

The Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, responded to Mr Ricciardone’s statement with anger, saying that the subject was none of the American’s business and called him an ‘amateur ambassador’. The Minister of the Interior, Beshir Atalay followed up by remarking that press freedom was probably better off in Turkey than in the US. This attitude is a sharp contrast to the current situation for many journalists on the ground – a situation which international observes believe can be attributed to the conservative Justice and Development party (AK Party) and their eight year period as the ruling party. Reporters Without Borders release a yearly report on the global conditions of freedom of press and in this period, Turkey took a dive in the organizations country index. From having been placed at number 99 for a stable period until 2002, Turkey had fallen to number 138 out of 178 countries in 2010. The EU commission assigned to oversee the Turkish reform process have been highly critical of this development, stating that the country’s legislation have failed to guarantee the freedom of press in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights.

According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the problem is mainly the anti-terror law from which many journalist are prosecuted for propaganda activities. The legislation judges the word as harsh as the sword – meaning that producing material considered to represent a terrorist organization is just as criminal as picking up a weapon and fighting for its cause. Spokeswoman for HRW in Turkey calls the law a political instrument and cites its unspecified language as a major reason for the law’s misuse.

Irfan Aktan, a 30-year-old journalist, is currently serving a 15 months prison sentence, convicted of terrorist propaganda after interviewing two armed militants from the Kurdish resistance movement PKK. He has appealed the conviction but has joined the cabinet of ‘unwanted’ journalist which include more controversial cases such as Verdat Kursun, chief editor of Azadiya Welat who was sentenced to 166 years in prison for “spreading propaganda for an illegal organization” – meaning the PKK. To Jyllands-posten, Mr Aktan explains “I have passed on other people’s opinion to a newspaper audience. It is the most fundamental journalistic discipline for which I am now being punished.”

The article Turkey’s Freedom of Press, Under Pressure appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.